The Good, the Bad, and the Furry – Review and Giveaway

If you live in the U.S., you may only be a little familiar with Tom Cox’s awesome books about his cats: Janet, Ralph, Shipley and The Bear. If you’re from the U.K., however, Tom and his cats are hugely popular!

Hm, I didn’t ask for assistance with this review.

Anyhow, The Good, the Bad, and the Furry is the third of Tom’s books about his cats. He also writes about music, golf, and for lots of magazines and papers. But that part isn’t important. What you need to know is his two prior cat books, Under the Paw and Talk to the Tail are hilarious in that charmingly quirky, British way, and The Good, the Bad, and the Furry follows right in line with them!

In this newest book, Tom is going through a breakup and early on, he loses his cat Janet who, in spite of his name, is a guy cat. This leaves him with Ralph, the cat who says his own name; Shipley, who only becomes agreeable when you hold him upside down; and of course, The Bear, a wise and knowing panther who takes life way too seriously. With cats like these, how can a book not be fun, even through some sadness? I couldn’t put it down!

In addition to Tom’s cats, we meet his parents (his dad talks in ALL CAPS and refuses any belief in free will), Tom’s nice new girlfriend Gemma, and a variety of friends and random characters. And stray orange cats that just happen to wander into his home and look enough alike to be confusing. Plus a new tuxedo kitten with a batman face joins the family along the way. Every so often there’s a pause in the anecdotes and narrative for chapters such as “Some Anonymous Cats I have Psychoanalysed on My Travels (2010–2012)” and “Advice for New Kitten Owners” (hint: it’s not care and feeding tips).

If you are looking for a lighthearted read that’s mostly (but not completely) about cats, you will want to read The Good, the Bad, and the Furry — and guess what? I have five copies to give away! To enter, just comment on this blog post and say you did on the Rafflecopter widget below! There are other things you can do to get more entries after that. I really want you to have this book!

The giveaway ends Monday, May 4, at midnight, and is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. If you are one of my international readers, you can enter and name someone in the U.S. or Canada to receive the book — and maybe they will send it to you when they are done!

Note: I received a galley copy of the book for review. Links are Amazon Associate links — I get a small commission when you click through and buy a copy. And of course, you’d want that, right?